Sparkle Hayter says the Chelsea Hotel is full of magic and energy. It is not something that can be directly articulated, but it exists and its forces are powerful. Hayter, author and resident of the hotel for over 10 years before leaving for Paris and Canada by way of India, said she felt nurtured by the atmosphere of the hotel when she lived there.
She said that nurturing influence came from Stanley Bard, who created a space at the hotel for artists to live and flourish. “He brought in wave after wave of artists from the 1950’s onward,” she said. “Jasper Johns and Arthur Miller lived there, and then into the 60’s there was the whole Warhol crowd.”
But, after fifty years of service, the hotel’s Board of Directors unceremoniously kicked out Bard—just days shy of his 73rd birthday. But the tenants’ rallied behind him. After all of the bad publicity, he has been allowed back into the hotel lobby—but not behind the hotel desk. He has a ‘Goodwill Ambassador’ title. No one knows what this actually means or what he does, but he continues to spend time at the hotel.
Lisa Chamberlain’s article in Sunday’s New York Times is seemingly reassuring. It quotes Ira Drukier as saying, “People will be pleased with the changes.” But who are the people he’s talking about? If his comment is directed at the residents, that’s fine. If he’s talking about the shareholders, that’s a different matter entirely.
What is going on at the Chelsea Hotel? It’s hard to find out anything at all.
If that’s how the hotel management treated Bard after a half century of service, long time residents fear for their future as well. No tenant wants to talk on record, as they dread reprisals. Neither is the new management forthcoming. I called the hotel and asked David Elder—who assumed Bard’s duties behind the front desk—for an interview. He referred me to the hotel’s public relations representative at Rubenstein Communications. Bud Perrone, his representative, refused to grant an interview, saying that they are not ready to talk to the press. Decisions are still "in flux" and perhaps, at a later date, an interview would be allowed. He said I could submit a list of questions, which I did. They have not yet come back with answers.
Since the building is landmarked, the Landmark Preservation Commission will not approve any changes to the exterior. This means that the portion visible from the street is protected, and any other part of the building (the rear, for example) is only nominally protected. The interior of the building is not protected, and neither is any of the art work hung inside the building. Andrew Berman, Executive Director for the Greenwich Village Society for Historic Preservation, said only a few buildings in New York City have interiors that are protected. To qualify for an interior landmark status, the inside of a building must be accessible to the public and deemed historically significant.
Change is everywhere in Chelsea. There is construction, renovation and rebuilding throughout the neighborhood. Not all of this is bad. Chelsea used to be a rundown, shabby extension of the garment district. Its nighttime streets (unbelievable now) were deserted and best avoided if you were walking alone. Now, with its shiny new galleries, restaurants and hi-rises, Chelsea is a destination in itself. Pedestrian traffic on Eighth Avenue between 14th and 23rd Streets rivals Broadway on the Upper West Side.
The trajectory for this neighborhood is clearly going up and anyone who invests in Chelsea can see dollar signs everywhere. The trouble is, the Chelsea Hotel is not just another piece of real estate. It’s an icon known the world over. It is exactly the kind of place that that allows New York to call itself one of the artistic capitals of the world. These kinds of ideas (and people) are at complete odds with bottom-line hotel managers and real estate developers. Instead of merely respecting and consuming artistic culture, they are on the verge of cannibalizing it.
The Chelsea is like no other place in the world. It is a portal to creativity, which is why so many artists, writers, musicians flock there. To change the Chelsea, Hayter warned, “is messing with powerful forces. If this is lost, I just can’t bear the thought.”
And, if you look at the responses from places like the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Holland, New Zealand (and many, many more, all available on Living with Legends), she is not alone. The whole world is watching. – Sherry Mazzocchi
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